In Stray Drop, the house plays a pretty critical role in the story, it being where most of the action takes place. Adventurous, I know, but my heroine’s a house servant, so . . . you know. I’ve spent a lot of time studying houses of the day. Thank you to all those diligent archeologists out there who have uncovered some for me!
What did I learn? That in Israel in Jesus’ day, much of the household was run on the roof. The rooftop was usually on multiple levels, each section of the house being a varying height, and it’s where people did the weaving, the cooking, the everything. For some reason, I hadn’t envisioned this. I had assumed there would be something like a porch or portico, something that would provide shade. But apparently they went outside for the light, so . . . this is why I shouldn’t assume. The actual kitchen was very small, and most of the cooking was done out there where the heat wouldn’t build up. Makes sense, huh?
As I was writing I kept going to this site, which has a ton of helpful info about Biblical Israel.
Back to Companion Guide